Loadout of the two monopiles and transition pieces at EEW SPC quay in Rostock (Source: EEW SPC)
Each monopile weighs 877 metric tons, having a diameter of 7.8 meters (25.5 feet diameter). The foundations are now being shipped to Virginia for installation later this year.
The two monopile foundations will be the first monopile foundations ever installed in US Federal waters, representing a new capability for the US offshore wind industry. At the same time the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) demonstration project will be the first project in US Federal waters passing the BOEM approval, thus marking another milestone for the emerging offshore wind market in the US.
EEW Group is very proud to have been selected by Denmark’s Ørsted and US local Dominion Energy as the foundation supplier for the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind demonstration project. Thus, EEW is part of the supply chain for the first two US offshore wind projects (EEW delivered the pipes for Ørsted’s Block Island Wind Farm jacket foundations earlier) and contributes significantly to the development of the US offshore wind industry. As a next step, EEW is working to realize monopile manufacturing in the US, starting with Ørsted’s Ocean Wind project and intends to bring hundreds of local manufacturing jobs to the US East Coast.
“Even though this project (CVOW) only consists of two monopiles and transition pieces, it has a profound importance for the development of the US offshore wind market as this is the first project that successfully has passed all phases of the BOEM approval. This milestone will pave the way for large-scale commercial projects to follow”, says CEO of the EEW Group Christoph Schorge. “Both Dominion Energy and Ørsted are key developers in the US, and the collaboration on this project demonstrates the determination toward the rapid development of US offshore wind”, Christoph Schorge continues, “With our EEW team members in the US and in Germany, we are looking forward to further maturing our relationships with offshore wind developers in the US, with the aim to provide them with locally fabricated monopile foundations”.